Food Stuff

Making latkes for Hanukkah, which starts Tuesday evening, is fairly simple. Grated potato, onion, flour or matzo meal, salt and pepper and beaten egg — plus oil and a frying pan — are all that's needed. But when there's a crowd to feed after lighting the menorah, a shortcut may be called for.

About the best frozen heat-and-serve latkes that have come our way are Linda's Gourmet Latkes. Large ones come 10 to a package, and bite-size 24 to a package. The smaller ones make perfect hors d'oeuvres begging for sour cream and a spoonful of caviar or a ribbon of smoked salmon.

Various stores, including Grace's Marketplace, sell the bite-size version for $18 a package. From lindasgourmetlatkes.com, 24 bite-size latkes or 10 large are $13.99 a package, plus shipping. A kosher version is also available at that Web site for $67.50 for 45 large and $72 for 120 bite-size.

A Warm-Up Outfit for a Wintry Eve

Just when you need a warmer for wintry days, the makers of Macallan, a single-malt Scotch aged in sherry casks, have introduced their first liqueur. Called Amber, it comes in a sleek bottle shaped a bit like a kidney bean.

The liqueur has the richness of whiskey overlaid with a maple syrup aroma and flavor, with a sweet hint of pecan from the syrups used to blend it. It is 50 proof. A splash will mellow a Scotch on the rocks, bolster a cup of black tea or add a new dimension to a highball made with dark rum and pineapple juice.

An error has occurred. Please try again later.

You are already subscribed to this email.

Ginger babies and candy canes of crystallized ginger could adorn a gingerbread house, of course, or garnish holiday pastries and all sorts of desserts. But these intensely flavored bites are not just for children. They can accompany cheese, or, on a toothpick, decorate a cocktail. A candy cane might hang from the rim of a litchi martini.

Made by Ginger People of Marina, Calif., they are $6.50 to $7 for 6.7 ounces at Whole Foods at Columbus Circle, and $7 plus shipping from gingerpeople.com.

Sweet Potato Pastries,Chased by Green-Tea Latte

Kelli Bernard, a former Web site designer with a love for Japan, has opened a shop and tearoom, Amai Tea and Bake House. A brick-walled oasis, it serves high-quality teas and drinks like frothy green-tea latte and green tea cupcakes, both at near left.

Tafu New York, a branch of a Japanese tea company, has a shop and cafe at the Metropolitan Hotel selling cookies, cheesecake, financiers and chocolates (mostly $4 and $4.50) by Kyotofu on Ninth Avenue; 569 Lexington Avenue (51st Street), (212) 980-1310.